Colts, Cowboys Fall to Curse of the Bye Week?

by Jaxon on Jan 15, 2008 12:25 AM EST in News Comment 1 comment

Peter King makes a point I’ve been dwelling on since yesterday’s upsets. Is having the week off really good for a team that wants to stay sharp and remain on top of their game?

Still think it's a good idea to rest your players for the playoffs in Weeks 16 and 17? The Bucs and Colts went to a spa the last half of December and lost to underdogs at home in their first playoff games. That's the second time in three years it's happened to Indy. The Packers barely rested their guys and looked like the '58 Colts in whipping the Seahawks. New England, Green Bay and New York rested no one; they're 4-0 combined. The Giants, in fact, were badly slumping entering Week 17 with nothing to play for. Since then, they nearly knocked off the best team in the league and have won two road playoff games.

Certainly the home field is an advantage and historically the top two seeds win just under 80% of these games. Don’t tell that to the Colts or Cowboys. Both were expected to win big after having an extra weeks rest.

What about those teams that rested players in their last games to avoid injury? The Bucs, Cowboys, Seahawks & Colts all lost. With nothing to gain, the Giants played their hearts out against the Patriots in week 17 and though they lost you could tell it gave them confidence. I know I’m stating the obvious and this is just one game, one team and it doesn’t necessarily represent a trend. I think what it represents is a coaching philosophy that worked in this case and therefore Tom Coughlin looks like a genius, for now.

Where the trend lies is that no matter what seed you enter the playoffs all you need to do is get on a roll and build some confidence. The degree of separation in the NFL playoffs in these modern days is slight at best with games turning on a single play call, a tipped pass, a block that springs a run back, a camera angle that allows an effective challenge.

Panther fans would be wise to remember this team is not far from a playoff spot. We don’t necessarily need to be the #1 seed or even win the NFC South for that matter. Win enough games to get into the playoffs, period. From there all it takes is momentum in your final few games and from there, the Super Bowl!

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Peter King's 20/20 hindsight

Peter King's point was pretty dumb about resting starters. Resting starters is a strategy that most often works. The point is to get healthy and avoid getting injured. Maybe he also thinks starters should play the full games in the preseason. Remember last year when LT didn't play at all and finished with 31 TDs? The same preseason, Campbell throws and interception and Clinton Portis put a devastating hit on the DB to make the tackle. His dislocated shoulder kept him out for over a month.

The Colts and Cowboys had a bye week so they had two weeks off, and they needed it to get healthy as they had injured players in rehab. The Giants played their players because they had no real momentum or confidence going in, so they got up for the Pats. Now the Giants are all banged up and the Packers are going to take advantage of it. Resting the starters or playing them is not the key to mental mistakes during the game. The Cowboys had 11 penalties and went away from what worked, Marion Barber. Furthermore, it is very rare in the NFL for one team to beat another three times in one season. It's very difficult. So the Cowboys had a lot going against them. The Colts made a lot of mental errors also, and had key injuries. Marvin Harrison's fumble was critical, but Manning's horrible throw to Cromartie was even bigger, not to mention having to play without the sure-handed Joseph Addai (remember the ball Keith should've caught that ended up in Weddle's arms.)

If I'm the coach of the Panthers and we have our seed locked up, Jake, Smith and Williams would play sparingly. I would want them to establish a rhythm and take some hits to keep the flow, but that's it. I would get Rosario, Carter, Colbert, Foster, Goings and Jarrett the ball often so they're ready. If my $11 million Smith isn't ready (and you know he would be), then maybe his contract should be re-worked.

by usana_gaines on Jan 15, 2008 1:03 PM EST reply actions 0 recs